I eat pasta and salmon for lunch followed by fruit (usually raspberries and strawberries) with a fruit yoghurt. If I don't eat the fruit and yoghurt, I don't feel hungry for a few hours (until tea time), but if I have the fruit, I am really struggling with hunger pangs within an hour or so. Why is this?

Answer

When you eat any food, but particularly high-sugar foods such as fruit, fruited yogurt and pasta, the pancreas produces insulin to usher glucose into the cells where it is burned for fuel. But sometimes, the pancreas over-produces insulin, which drops the blood sugar quickly, and leads to a feeling of hunger again in a short time. It’s as if the body expected more food to come in, but then it was tricked by only a small piece of fruit. Protein (salmon) prolongs satiety because it doesn't create an insulin spike, but your high carbohydrate load accompanying the fish might have overridden the effect of the protein.